Delhi University's Four Year Undergraduate Programme is history now, with 57 of its 64 affiliated colleges ready to admit students into traditional three-year courses.

This dramatic end to the snowballing FYUP controversy came on a day of hectic meetings and intense politicking, including a resignation-that-wasn't of Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Dinesh Singh.

A press release issued on Tuesday by the University Grants Commission (UGC), after six hours of deliberations with Human Resource Development ministry officials, said a communication has been sent to DU directing it to write to colleges immediately and tell them to admit students to three-year undergraduate programmes.

The NSUI celebrate what they see as victory in their campaign against the FYUP reforms

The release also listed colleges which have agreed to implement the three-year programme.

"The University Grants Commission had on 20th June, 2014 issued a set of directives to the University of Delhi for admitting students for academic year 2014-15 onwards for the general undergraduate programs to the 3 year undergraduate programme which was prevalent in the University prior to introduction of FYUP.

"The University was also directed to make appropriate arrangements for enabling the migration of students already admitted in the FYUP in 2013-14 to the 3 year undergraduate programme structure, and to take all steps as may be necessary to adhere to the 10+2+3 structure. It directed the University of Delhi to inform all colleges of the UGC's directives for immediate and strict compliance," the notice read.

The UGC's communication of Sunday was forwarded by the DU Registrar's office to all affiliated colleges, saying the notice was "self explanatory".

Reassuring students

The UGC assured all the students that none of them will be put to any inconvenience and that their interests will be protected.

B.Tech students of DU, who had staged a protest in front of the UGC office, said they met senior officials who have assured them they will keep their interests in mind while deciding on how to seamlessly migrate to the three-year programme.

The denouement of the evening was preceded by high drama during the day.

An SMS saying the V-C had resigned sent out by the university's media coordinator, Malay Neerav, earlier in the day sparked it all off. As news channels went berserk with the breaking news, opponents of FYUP began renewed victory celebrations of their own.

Activist Madhu Kishwar then burst upon every channel to disabuse the public of the Dinesh Singh resignation notion. She also alleged that the V-C was being pressured by the UGC to quit.

"The Pro VC Shri Sudheesh Pachauri has already clarified in his press briefing that faculty members of the university met the VC and made an honest request to the VC that he must not resign," it said.

Also on Tuesday, the FYUP row reached the Delhi High Court where a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by advocate R.K. Kapoor for restoration of the three-year degree course even as the Supreme Court refused to intervene in the issue.

Even as that PIL seeking restoration of the three-year programme was being filed, a DU professor was in the process of challenging the notification scrapping the FYUP.

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Professor Aditya Narayan Mishra, an ex-DUTA President and an assistant professor at Aurobindo College, went to the Supreme Court with his plea that the FYUP is valid and the ordinance brought by DU regarding this is consistent with UGC guidelines.

The apex court refused to intervene in the matter, and asked him to approach the high court.

The admissions process is now set to resume.

On Monday, the Principals' Association of DU had decided to defer the admission process that involves over 2.70 lakh applicants vying for over 54,000 seats in 64 colleges.

DU admissions to be delayed by a few days

By Heena Kausar in New Delhi

With no end in sight for the face-off between the Delhi University and UGC over the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP), admissions to DU colleges are likely to be delayed by 4-5 days.

While 57 DU colleges replied to UGC on Tuesday, saying they are complying with the directives of the commission to conduct admissions in the three-year system, DU officials said the admission process will still take some days to begin.

DU officials said the university ordinance currently has the FYUP system, and it is only after a change in the ordinance that admissions can begin.

The admissions process is set to resume in a few days

They said admissions in the three-year format cannot begin till the change is passed by the Academic Council and Executive Council of the university.

"We are ready to comply with the orders of the UGC. But till the time the change to previous three-year system is not carried out in the university ordinance, the admissions cannot begin. Either the V-C can conduct these meetings immediately or change the ordinance by using emergency powers and later ratify the changes in the AC and EC meetings," Vijay K. Sharma, principal Ram Lal Anand College, said.

RLA is one of the 57 colleges which has sent a compliance report to the UGC.

In the battle between DU vice-chancellor Dinesh Singh and the UGC, the over 2.5 lakh applicants who were waiting for DU colleges to start admissions are going to be the biggest loser.

The University's Principal Association had on Monday decided to defer the admissions process in the face of conflicting guidelines of DU and UGC.

An example of what is possibly in store for the DU applicants was visible on Tuesday when confused students and parents, especially from other states, reached the campus to get admission only to realise that it has been deferred.

HRD Ministry stays away from FYUP mess

By Mail Today Bureau in New Delhi

Tipht-lipped: HRD Minister Smriti Irani

Just days after the Ministry of Human Development backed the University Grants Commission (UGC) to instruct Delhi University to roll back the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP), fireworks have erupted within the university.

However, the ministry as well as the HRD Minister Smriti Irani maintained a cool distance from the issue.

While Irani had played it politically correct on Monday stating that the UGC was the supreme body and DU must comply with its orders, on Tuesday she took a U-turn and said she "was not in the liberty to talk" about the issue.

The UGC has been tightening the noose around the university and its vice-chancellor Dinesh Singh but the ministry refused to intervene.

Irani had met UGC chairperson Ved Prakash earlier on Monday. But now the onus is on the commission to take necessary action to revoke FYUP.

The UGC had on Sunday issued a directive to DU asking it to scrap the programme.